’Cats win region, qualify 14 for state meet

By: 
Nathan Steele

The Custer High School wrestling team competed at the region 4B tournament at Lead-Deadwood High School Saturday. The wrestlers made school history in two ways—one, for sending 14 wrestlers to the state tournament (12 boys, two girls), which is a new school record, and two, for winning the region tournament for Custer’s first time. The wrestlers competed against 15 other teams in the region and scored a combined total of 271.5 points. They were followed by Philip and Stanley County with 247 points and 130 points, respectively.
Each wrestler placed in the tournament, and four came home as region champs. It was a “great weekend,” said coach Jared Webster.
First up in Custer’s lineup is Tyler Trant at the 106-pound weight class. Trant won his first two matches of the tournament to put him in the championship match againt Carter Kendrick of Philip. Trant lost by 9-6 decision to Kendrick.
Tray Weiss wrestled in the 113-pound weight class and pinned each of his first three opponents, putting him in the first-place match. In that match, Weiss faced off against Bennett  County’s Neil Hicks. Weiss won the match by technical fall  to make him the first of Custer’s four region champs.
In the 120-pound weight class was Connor Owens. Owens won his first match by pin and then was pinned himself in his next match against Gage Anderson from Lemmon-McIntosh. Owens wrestled back to the third-place match and won against Philip’s Asher Peterson by a 5-2 decision.
Landon Woodward wrestled in the 126-pound weight class. Woodward won his first three matches to put him in the first-place match against Stanley  County’s Chase Hanson. Hansen then won over Woodward by major decision.
Riley Scott was the second wrestler in the lineup to take home a region championship. He won his first two matches by pin and then faced off against Lincoln Wickstrom of Harding County. Scott won by decision 4-0.
In the 138-pound weight class was Leighton Sander. Sander had a back and forth go at the tournament. He won his first match, lost the second, and then won the consolation semifinals to put him back in the third-place match. In that match he faced off against Mekhi Hayes of Lead-Deadwood and lost by a 6-4 decision.
Kai Rusch wrestled in the 145-pound weight class and also had a back and forth go at the tournament. He pinned his first opponent, lost the next and then won in the consolation semi-final to compete in the third-place match. In the third-place match, Rusch lost by sudden victory.
Wrestling in the 152-pound weight class was Connor Adams. Adams won his first match by pin and then lost the next two. In the fifth-place match, Adams defeated Lead-Deadwood’s Alex Foster in a 5-0 decision.
Jonathan Lewis is the next region champion for Custer this year. He wrestled in the 160-pound weight class and pinned each of his opponents to put him in the championship match, which he won by injury default against Tance Wagner from Lyman.
In the 170-pound weight class was Parker Noem. In his first match, Noem pinned Isaiah Quasney from St. Thomas More in just 22 seconds. He pinned his next opponent in 1:33 to put him in the championship match against top-ranked Burk Blasius of Philip. Noem lost the match by 5-2 decision.
Ryder Bailey wrestled in the 182-pound weight class and is the fourth region champ on the team. Bailey pinned his first opponent, Hill City’s Caleb Garcia, in 30 seconds. He won his next match by pin in 2:22 to put him in the championship match against Philip’s Mason Heath. Bailey pinned Heath in 4:37.
Wrestling in the 195-pound weight class was Zayne Severyn. He won his first match by decision against Lyman’s Gunner Johnson. In the championship match, he competed against Caleb Rickenbach of Hot Springs. Severyn lost by major decision.
Weston Woodward wrestled at the 220-pound weight class. He lost his first match, but won the second to put him back in the consolation semifinal against Harding County’s Grey Gilbert. He lost that match by decision to put him in the fifth-place match against Isaac McManigal of Lyman. Woodward defeated McManigal by decision.
Rounding out the Wildcat roster was Grady Lehrkamp in the 285-pound weight class. Lehrkamp pinned Newell’s Colton Niles to put him in the first-place match against Louie Thiry. Lehrkamp lost by injury default.
The top four wrestlers in each weight class move on to the state tournament. Those advancing this year are Tyler Trant, Trey Weiss, Connor Owens, Landon Woodward, Riley Scott, Leighton Sander, Kai Rusch, Jonathan Lewis, Parker Noem, Ryder Bailey, Zayne Severyn and Grady Lehrkamp. Weston Woodward and Connor Adams were barely edged out, eaching earning fifth place. However, Woodward may still get a chance to compete as an alternate in the case of an injury.
Two girls also qualified for the state meet. That qualification is determined by a computer ranking system, as the girls did not have a region meet. Qualifying for Custer were Jessica Mckenney and Essah Syverson.
Webster says that going into the tournament, the team is focused on having fun and doing what they know how to do—wrestle.
“They know how to wrestle, so we’ll see what happens. There’s not much we can do now,” said Webster.
Custer is also competing in the state dual tournament this year. The first dual will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday against Parker. The Wildcats ranked third in the dual meet, which features the top eight ranked dual teams.
A “Welcome Home Party” with cake and ice cream will be hosted for the wrestlers at 4 p.m. on Sunday at the Custer High School Commons.

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